Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 9 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Chichi Jima.
• 19 B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• 21 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s using radar guidance from high altitude attack defensive gun positions on Iwo Jima with 84 tons of bombs, but results are negligible.
• During the night, 8 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Chichi Jima and Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 60 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack troops, tanks, motor vehicles, and supplies at 7 locations.
• 23 P-47s support Allied ground forces near Myitson and Nabu.
• 4 P-47s support Allied ground troops at Loiya.
• 3 P-47s attack a bridge at Pa-mao.

• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack rail targets across broad areas of China.

Air Operations, Europe

• 72 Mosquitos are sent to Stuttgart, 11 to Misburg, 4 to Würzburg, and 3 each on 'H₂S trials' to Cologne, Frankfurt, Koblenz and Wiesbaden, and 1 Mosquito flies an RCM sortie.
• There are no losses.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack a bridge and sugar refinery.
• XXII TAC's 57th Fighter Group, in P-47s, attacks gun emplacements, a bridge, and rail lines in the Po River valley.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack troop movements in the Po River valley.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s mount their first attacks against shipping off Formosa and off the China coast, a task to which the unit will be almost exclusively dedicated for several months, as will US 7th Fleet PBYs and PB4Ys.

Air Operations, Marianas

In its first combat mission since returning to the war zone as a B-29 unit, the 314th Very Heavy Bomb Wing’s 19th Very Heavy Bomb Group attacks ground targets on Rota Island.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Corregidor.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 6th Army ground forces in the Nichols Field area of Luzon.
• V Bomber Command A-20s and 348th Fighter Group P-47s attack barges off the Bataan Peninsula.
• B-24s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack military targets across the Bataan Peninsula throughout the day.

Baltic

To date, the Kriegsmarine has evacuated 374,000 refugees from East Prussia.

Burma

West of Mandalay XXXIII Corps units begin to take their second series of bridgeheads over the Irrawaddy. The advance here is by 20th Indian Div opposite Myinmu. To the south IV Corps has reached the Irrawaddy at Myitche and Seikpyu and is preparing to cross. British and US units of Daniel Sultan's Northern Area Combat Command are advancing south toward Lashio and Kyaukme, but are being held for the moment in heavy fighting near the River Shweli.

Diplomatic Relations

(when?)Peru declares war on Germany and Japan.

Eastern Front

The Germans resume their break-out attempt from Buda. A force of nearly 16,000 men reach the hills around Perbal before they are halted by units of the 46th Army. More than 12,000 have been killed or captured inside the city. The remnants of Pfeffer-Wildenbruch's group continue to fight on in the sewers.

Germany, Home Front

Martin Bormann issues a decree pressing German women into Volkssturm service. All women between 16 and 60 are declared eligible.

Pacific

• The US submarine Batfish (SS-310) sinks its third Japanese submarine, RO-113, in 4 days off the Philippine coast.
• The US submarine Hawkbill (SS-366) sinks the small Japanese cargo ship Kisaragi Maru (496t) and the 2 landing barges she was towing at the time in Lombok Strait.

Philippines

On Luzon the Japanese still in Manilla are cut off by the American advance, but are determined to fight to a finish. The Americans reach Manila Bay. The 11th Airborne Division fights through mines, obstacles, and heavy gun emplacements to reach Nichols Field supported by artillery and air bombardment. In the XI Corps sector they advance from Dinalupihan toward the Bataan peninsula, which they must take to give them control of Manila Bay.

V-Weapons

German scientists working at the top secret V-weapon station at Peenemunde are evacuated away from the oncoming Red Army.

Western Front

Further progress is made by the British XXX Corps in the northern sector of the front, where the Canadian 1st Army is operating. The Canadian 3rd Div reaches Kellen and Warbeyen and relieves the British 15th Div and the Cleve sector; the 15th Div then pushes on northeast toward Calcar, meeting stubborn resistance by the units of the German 1st Parachute Army; the 43rd Div takes Bedburg, an essential objective before going on toward Goch; the 53rd and 51st Divs carry on with the clearance of the Reichswald.

In the US 3rd Army sector, the VIII and XII Corps advance in the Prüm and Bollendorf sectors.

Images from February 12, 1945

Cologne, February 24, 1945

Churchill Tanks in Kleve, Germany

Fires in Manila

Churchill Bridgelayer and Fascine Carrier

Captured Japanese Flag

German Soldiers Surrender in Budapest

Churchill AVRE with Spigot Mortar

Refugees from Eastern Germany

Sacrifice of the People